Wednesday, 2 August 2017

Legio Custodes: Squad Aripert

For a few months now Darien and I have been pouring our time into the group's Legio Custodes. Here is the first squad we want to show off and a little bit of background.

Custodian Aripert

Custodian Uda

Custodian Raul

Custodian William

Custodian Jahangir

Squad Aripert were responsible for bringing the Fescan dynasty to compliance with not a single shot fired or a single drop of blood spilt.

The oath breaking Rogue Trader Penn Fescan, once thought lost in the warp, had instead set himself up in the Veiled Region as Emperor of a small empire. It is not known how the Emperor learnt of this treasonous act, but instead of sending a Legion to enact his vengeance, he instructed Custodian Aripert and another four of the Ephoroi to test their skills upon Penn Fescan's holdfast.

The five Custodians departed from Terra and made their way to the Veiled Region. They arrived to find the Fescan Dynasty braced for war. Whole Taghmatas and Regiments of soldiers guarded each world, with previously unknown Titan and Knight contingents in support. Squad Aripert infiltrated over the course of the next thirty days from system to system in the Fescan Dynasty. They travelled from the ore mines of Valax, via shunt freighters where they hid buried under tonnes of ore for seventeen days to the Forges of Castein. From here they stowed away aboard the Cylene to Saramar Major, the throne world of Penn Fescan. Upon arrival at the planet from the warp, the squad disembarked the vessel and mounted the exterior of the starship. What Squad Aripert did next can only be described as incredulous. Upon learning the trajectory of the Star Fort Fescan Alpha, the Legio Custodes of Squad Aripert, using the momentum of the decelerating Cylene, as well as it's approach into geo synchronised orbit, leapt into the void. They drifted towards the Star Fort for a period of sixteen hours, with their artificer wrought suits operating at the bare minimum of power. With a few last minute micro adjustments from stabilisers, the five Custodians landed upon the surface of the Star Fort.

There they entered the construct and separated.

On the fifth week, the governors of the Fescan Dynasty arrived to a meeting where they expected to be greeted by Emperor Fescan. Instead a Legio Custodes of the Emperor of mankind entered the chamber. Aripert simply explained the mistake that Penn Fescan had made thinking that he could put himself up as the ruler of his own pocket empire. He then levelly explained that he on his own had removed the most guarded man in their entire dynasty without anyone knowing he had even gone missing. With one of the Emperor's Golden guardians in the room with them, the planetary Governors sat in silence, terrified with what his presence portended. Taking Penn's throne and removing his helm, Aripert stated "I am now the ruler of this Dynasty, by the power invested in me by the Emperor of Mankind."

Aripert then explained for the next seven hours how Penn had formed a subpar realm. He spoke to each in turn as though he had known them his entire life, explaining how every poor decision that Penn had made had effected their world. He then set about creating trade deals and treaties, agreements and tithes, as well as abolishing and creating laws. The Governors left solemnly and returned to their worlds. Within three further days all planets had pledged loyalty to the Imperium.

Aripert Luna returned to Terra a month later, after appointing his successor, to continue his testing of the defences of the Imperial palace.

Penn Fescan was placed into the Imperial Dungeon, where he lived out his dying days.

Here are images of Squad Aripert holding the Corne'zarr passage from hordes of neverborn. They succumbed after seven weeks of non stop combat to a horde of over seven thousand Daemons. Their bodies were never recovered.

Hi Mal. The Webway board is under construction now. I have to do 3 more board tiles, then some tunnel walls etc. then the Webway will be complete. Then I need to finish the Eldar scenery too which represents their lost cities. Then I need to model the Imperial assets which have found their way into the Webway :). Lots to do still but hopefully it will be worth it in the end.

So keen on this webway board. After reading MoM I had similar plans but I cooled on custodes in the short term as I need to focus on finishing what I've got from my SoH.

Another reason the webway board fell aside was I couldn't find any game mats suitable as a start point.... I don't think I could have improvised a board that would have looked any where near as legit as this one!!!